Japan's UN role

Two very important questions are plaguing Japan.

First, is Japan determined to make efforts that will lead to a ban on the use of force the world over?

And second, is Tokyo simply trying to have it both ways, by sanctioning force, but not participating in its application? If so, how will it justify such a position?

Japan has been hard pressed to answer these questions since Foreign Minister Yohei Kono stepped up to the podium at the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 27 to launch his country's formal bid for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

For months, a succession of Japanese administrations and the public have been vacillating over the merits of assuming wider global responsibility in exchange for greater authority and prestige within the world community.

The primary source of all this inner turmoil is the fear that as a permanent member of the UNSC, Japan will have to engage in military actions under the UN banner.

Few people doubt Tokyo's bid for a permanent seat on the UNSC will be a success.

Regardless of the outcome, Japan's move is an important step in articulating its own position in the world community.

Even if the Japanese do not feel confident about their potential, they cannot afford to backtrack.

So far, the world has not reacted negatively to the conditions Japan has placed on its participation as a permanent member of the Security Council.

But the question remains whether Japan's constitutional restrictions on the use of force are self-explanatory to the rest of the world."

-- The Nation, Bangkok